Matewan
Matewan is a small, historically poor pre-War town in one of the most historically poor areas of the United States. Although originally founded as a coal-mining town, Matewan soon grew outdated following the advent of nuclear power. Following the Great War, however, Matewan became an important location in the area, as it was here that coal once again became a viable source for fuel. Now, Matewan is secure and is one of the richest towns in the region, although it is rocked by internal strife between the coal mining company and the traders who move the coal along the railroads and rivers of the region. History Pre-War Matewan was founded in 1890 by Erskine Hazard, who laid the foundation and drew up a map of a town called "Matteawan" for the Norfolk and Western Railroad company. Local residents of the new town changed the name, and it was established as just another coal-mining town for the Stone Mountain Coal Company. In 1920, Matewan first achieved local and national renown in the Battle of Matewan. Coal miners of the time worked in poor, hazardous working conditions. Rather than being paid in dollars, the workers were paid in company scrip as reimbursement for their back-breaking labor, scrip which could only be spent at the company store, where managers would charge exorbitantly high prices for goods such as food, clothing, and gear for the job, higher price than the workers could afford, in order to keep the workers perpetually in debt to the company. Matewan miners decided that they had had enough and, with the help of the local mayor, Sid Hatfield, the miners attacked and killed detectives from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. This would later be known as the Battle of Matewan, and it would lead to the much larger Battle of Blair Mountain. Although the Battle of Matewan was a victory for the cause of coal miners and unionists everywhere, it was a bittersweet one, as it was around this time that coal power was beginning to decline in favor of electricity. Matewan began to settle into a decline as the industry in the town dried up. Although coal was still being used, it was no longer economically viable for coal mining to be conducted on such a massive scale, and so the companies began to cut back. The town sank into a slump, causing residents to fall below the poverty line. Many lacked basic utilities. Although the region was relieved somewhat by the introduction of cheap electricity via the Tennessee Valley Authority, it would fall on still-harder times after the advent of nuclear power. This clean, efficient energy source was a revolution in power, but, due to the expensive nature of nuclear power, many residents were unable to pay for it, resulting in an even-poorer Matewan. In the days before the Great War, after hearing of the tensions abroad, which were blown out of proportion in the telling, residents of Matewan began to move themselves into the old coal mines for shelter from the impending atomic fire, stockpiling whatever food, goods and arms they could acquire as they did so. When the bombs fell, the majority of the town's residents were safe from the bombs, although their numbers began to drop due to fallout, deaths from complications and cave-ins, and mutations (as noticeable mutants were usually killed). Post-War